Disclaimer ( Henry will be younger for the sake of this story) I never thought I would be back in Indiana let alone Hawkins, but I can't ignore the feeling that has been calling me back here. It's been getting stronger as the years went by, and if It's one thing I'm sure of, it is that I have to face him now. With each mile back home I feel him, his anger, his hate, his devotion to darkness. Henry was always troubled but he trusted me, and I betrayed him. Sooner or later I would be met with the consequences of my actions, now being the later. (Henry Creel X Fem!OC) #Henry Creel, #Peter Ballard, #001, #Mr. Whats-it

Hidden behind locked doors and iron rules, Henry Creel has spent his life inside Hawkins Lab - not by choice, but by design. Once the first child molded by Dr. Brenner's experiments, he grew into a silent protector for the generations of gifted children who came after him, bearing the weight of a life he never chose. He thought he understood the world: pain, obedience, isolation. Until Marlena Brenner, the daughter of the man who made him, returned to the lab - and changed everything. Where others saw a weapon, Marlena saw a man. She offered him kindness with no demands, love with no conditions. Slowly, Henry began to believe he could be something more than what the lab made him. Their stolen kisses, lingering touches, and tentative confessions grew into something fierce and real. But freedom always has a price. When a tragedy rips through the lab, taking Marlena's father and nearly Marlena herself, Henry is faced with the unimaginable terror of losing the only light in his dark world. As Marlena fights her way back from the brink, she refuses to rebuild what was broken. Instead, she dreams bigger: creating a place where gifted children can live without fear - a real home, filled with laughter, learning, and choice. A future Henry never dared to imagine. Now, surrounded by the children they vow to protect, Henry and Marlena must navigate first love, aching grief, and a healing neither of them thought possible. Together, they will build not just a sanctuary - but a family. A story of survival, redemption, and an extraordinary love born in the most unlikely of places, Brenners daughter is a heart-wrenching, breathtaking journey toward freedom, hope, and the simple, saving power of being seen.

Once upon a time, there was a girl who went by 004... ~~~ A new teacher is covering class- a strange substitute, who seems to know more than she's saying. Meanwhile, many years ago, a girl named Four grew up in a lab... And now the murders are happening, and to her, this all seems VERY familiar. Like the doing of a man she hasn't seen for a very long time... (Henry Creel/001 X OC. Bit of a slow-burn. Sort of enemies-and-lovers. Dark.)